Around the CFL: Blue Bombers fighting to return to elite status

Are the best days of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' impressive nucleus in the rear-view mirror?

That's a question being pondered by Blue Bombers fans, as veteran columnist Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun pointed out this week.

The Blue Bombers carry a 4-4 record into Friday's home game against the winless Ottawa Redblacks. A loss to Ottawa to wrap up the first half of the season would raise loud alarm bells, but even a win against a bad team won't be enough to eliminate doubts about this team's ceiling.

"I think we have some players that are older than they were last year by a few months and we've got some new guys. But old and too old are two very different things," Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea told reporters earlier this week following the team's bye. "We've got a lot of experience and we have to draw upon that to play better football.

"The type of guys we have, I think it's pretty easy to tell they have that character, they have the intangibles that allow them to work harder and longer than most people on earth."

Before last year's 10-8 finish and loss in the first round of the playoffs, the Blue Bombers went to five consecutive Grey Cup games.

Much of that success was guided by players still on the roster — 37-year-old quarterback Zach Collaros, offensive linemen Stanley Bryant, 40, and Patrick Neufeld, 37, defensive end Willie Jefferson, 35, and top Canadian receiver Nic Demski, 32.

All these men are still very capable of making big impacts, but the results haven't been as consistent lately.

The Blue Bombers are just 1-4 this season at their home Princess Auto Stadium, which has been sold out for 17 games in a row.

Collaros returns this week after missing four games with a neck injury, which should help the Blue Bombers.

"We have the greatest fans there (are)," Collaros said. "One of the nice things about being out is you kind of get to be a part of that and feel that adrenaline from a different vantage point. That was really cool. There were moments I can think of during that stretch where, man, I can understand why people love coming to these games. It's amazing. Our fans are the best. That's not hyperbole, they really are."

While it will take something worse than a so-so start to eliminate that environment, the Blue Bombers need to start winning consistently again to make home feel like a bigger advantage.

After Ottawa, the Blue Bombers face the Edmonton Elks and Montreal Alouettes before their annual Labour Day home-and-home series with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

By the end of that daunting stretch, we'll know plenty more about these Bombers.